Oklahoma House passes solar surcharge bill

Talk about trying to prevent progress, it seems as though certain legislators in certain states wish to continue making it harder for Americans to tap
into unlimited energy from the sun. People talk about the politicians in DC being in the pockets of business, well this extends beyond DC:

Utility customers who want to install rooftop solar panels or small wind turbines could face extra charges on their bills after legislation passed
the Oklahoma House of Representatives on Monday.

Senate Bill 1456 passed 83-5 after no debate in the House. It passed the Senate last month and now heads to Gov. Mary Fallin for her approval.

The bill was supported by the state’s major electric utilities, but drew opposition from solar advocates, environmentalists and others. It sets up a
process at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to establish a separate customer class and monthly surcharge for distributed generation such as rooftop
solar or small wind turbines.

Customers who already have those systems installed wouldn’t be affected by the bill.

Proving that idiocy truly has no bounds, Spain issued a "royal decree" taxing sunlight gatherers. The state threatens fines as much as 30
million euros for those who illegally gather sunlight without paying a tax.

The tax is just enough to make sure that homeowners cannot gather and store solar energy cheaper than state-sponsored providers.

The Secretary of State for Energy, Alberto Nadal, signed a draft royal decree in which consumption taxes are levied on those who want to start
solar power systems on their rooftops. The tax, labeled a "backup toll" is high enough to ensure that it will be cheaper to keep buying energy from
current providers.

Well, seeing how the Republican party holds a super-majority in both, the Oklahoma state Senate and House of Representatives and coupled with the fact
that they also have a Republican Governor, (whom I'm sure will proudly sign this bill) it has become abundantly clear that this is the GOP's idea of
liberty & freedom. Who'd a thunk it?

I've come to expect nothing less from states with Republican controlled state houses and legislatures which by the way, are also the same ones
advocating for all the new voter suppression initiatives.

I find it interesting in that when poor legislation comes from republicans, everyone slams them.

As should be the case.

But when poor legislation comes from democrats, many slam them, but the leftists defend them.

(aren't you allowed to disagree with your party leadership?)

We're definitely allowed to disagree and we do, when we think the legislation or the individual is bad.

Personally, I have no problem opposing legislation that originates from my party and/or those who propose it, when I believe them to be wrong. It's
just that more often than not, I happen to agree with them.

On the other hand, some of the most oppressive legislation I've seen in my lifetime is currently coming exclusively from states who's legislatures are
controlled by Republicans. Go figure!

I guess Harry Reid owns the sunlight that falls onto peoples properties, not the people themselves. Perhaps they will introduce a suntan tax next. Or
maybe a "shadow tax" for anyone who lives in the shade of another building and doesn't have to pay so much for air conditioning.

What some states are doing is taking away the Federal solar Tax credit that allow up to 30% of the costs and more.

It is despicable how the fat wallets of the profiteers, are no limited to Washington politicians, they are everywhere, buying elected officials paying
for laws, money that can go to help the consumer, but people still elect the rats anyway both at state and national level, even when the politicians
are no helping the voters and tax payers at all.

How can you people be so cold hearted that you can be against this. Just think of those poor people that own the energy companies that are losing
money because people are going to solar instead of being on the grid. Many of these people can barely afford a third or fourth Ferrari much less a
second house in the Hamptons or that dream home near the ski lodge. We should show these people we still have the American spirit and take up a
collection and help their dreams come true.

Representatives of Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co. and Public Service Co. of Oklahoma said the surcharge is needed to recover some of the infrastructure
costs to send excess electricity safely from distributed generation back to the grid.

The representatives said utilities need the new surcharge to prevent customers who can’t afford the installation costs of distributed generation
from subsidizing customers who have the systems installed.

That's all this is ?

Or is it a "back flow" tax on the power actually sold back to the utilities?

This content community relies on user-generated content from our member contributors. The opinions of our members are not those of site ownership who maintains strict editorial agnosticism and simply provides a collaborative venue for free expression.